Treated as a pariah by her party's standard bearers, with whom she has engaged in several well-publicized, election-year confrontations over the U.S. alliance with Israel, Democrat Lee Whitnum is once again embracing the role of anti-establishment candidate.

This time, it's in the governor's race.

Whitnum, 53, of Greenwich, is seeking the state's highest office, according to the latest incarnation of her political website. No one else in her party has declared in the Democratic nominating contest, which many political insiders expect to be an easy tune-up for incumbent Gov. Dannel P. Malloy before the general election.

Malloy is expected to announce his bid for re-election in May at the end of the current legislative session.

As of the close of business Monday, Whitnum, a four-time candidate for office, had yet to file organizational paperwork with the state Elections Enforcement Commission.

Last year, she was charged with second-degree stalking, second-degree harassment and disorderly conduct after prosecutors say she contacted the judge presiding over her acrimonious divorce in state Superior Court in Stamford at the judge's home. Whitnum said in a news release and telephone message last weekend that the charges were dropped. Court records show the charges are still pending, however.

Whitnum was unavailable for comment on Monday.

In 2008, Malloy publicly admonished Whitnum for her harsh criticism of Israel and characterized her comments as anti-Semitic. Whitnum, in turn, unsuccessfully sued Malloy for slander.

To protect himself against further lawsuits from Whitnum that he characterized as frivolous, Malloy resorted to obtaining a court order that requires Whitnum to show cause in future legal action.

A spokesman for Malloy directed questions on Whitnum's candidacy to the Connecticut Democrats, who declined to comment.

During the Democratic nominating contest for U.S. Senate in 2012, Whitnum drew a stinging rebuke from Democratic Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo after she called then-U.S. Rep. and fellow candidate Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a "whore" during a televised debate.

Whitnum emerged on the political scene in 2008 when she lost by a landslide to Jim Himes in the 4th Congressional District primary, which vaulted Himes to a general election upset of GOP incumbent Christopher Shays.

Two years later, she resurfaced as a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, but showed up at the state GOP convention by mistake and missed the voting.